Abstract
As regulators increasingly embrace cooperative approaches to governance,
voluntary public-private partnerships and self-regulation programs have
proliferated. However, because few have been subjected to robust evaluation,
little is known about whether these innovative approaches are achieving their
objectives. In the context of a nationwide self-policing program that encourages
companies to voluntarily self-disclose regulatory violations, we examine the
behaviors of facilities and regulators to gain empirical insights on the
theoretical promise of self-policing. We find evidence that on average
regulators reduce their scrutiny over self-policing facilities, especially those
facilities with better historical compliance records. We also find some evidence
that self-policing is associated with improved future compliance records.